As January 20, 1957 fell on a Sunday, President Eisenhower took the oath of office in a private White House ceremony. On Monday, January 21, 1957, he repeated the oath at the inaugural ceremonies held on the east portico of the White House. The oath was administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
In the afternoon 750,000 spectators watched a three and one-half hour parade over a three-mile route. Marching in the parade were 17,000 people, including 11,757 in military service.
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon with Anne and David Eisenhower, Julie and Tricia Nixon
There were 47 marching units, 52 bands, and 10 drum and bugle corps in the inaugural parade. The highlight of the parade was a mammoth float--408 feet long and mounted on 164 wheels--which introduced the theme "Liberty and Strength Through Consent of the Governed."
Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower with John and Barbara Eisenhower
Four inaugural balls were held in the evening at the Armory, the Mayflower Hotel, the Statler Hotel, and the Sheraton-Park Hotel.
1957 Inaugural trivia:
1. First time that a president was inaugurated for a term limited by the Constitution (22nd Amendment).
2. First presidential luncheon, held in the Old Supreme Court Chamber (S--228) in the Capitol.
3. For the 1957 Inaugural Parade, grandstands located along the line of march accommodated 65,800 persons; 2,900 more than in 1953.
4. January 20, 1957 Private ceremony in East Room, White House. Oath administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
5. January 21, 1957 Public ceremony on East Portico, U.S. Capitol. Oath administered by Chief Earl Warren.
6. Temperature: 44 degrees, light snow in the early morning, cloudy skies with a few flurries in the mid afternoon.
7. The Bible was open to the following passage during the 1957 Inauguration: Psalm 33, Verse 12
Presidential Inaugurations:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html
Library of Congress
Materials available: Documents, photographs, essays, video
A collection of approximately four hundred items or two thousand digital files relating to inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001. This presentation includes diaries and letters of Presidents and of those who witnessed inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music.
